The Switchbacks play their final regular season match of 2022 at Weidner Field this Saturday as they welcome the Oakland Roots SC to downtown Colorado Springs. Gates open at 5pm, with the first 500 fans receiving a Club & Country scarf, courtesy of the SOCO CW.
At the time of writing, the Switchbacks sit in 3rd place in the USL Championship Western Conference. The Oakland Roots are in 8th, with just goal-difference separating Oakland from a place in the postseason picture. The Switchbacks are 10-4-2 at Weidner Field this season, while interim Head Coach Noah Delgado’s Oakland are 3-4-7 away from Laney College Football Stadium. On April 30th, Saturday’s hosts defeated the Roots 3-0 in the Bay Area behind goals from Zach Zandi, Michee Ngalina and Hadji Barry.
What the Switchbacks Say:
Goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell: “It’s good to be home. It’s been great to be here all year – the fan support has never wavered [through] ups, downs, and otherwise, and we’re excited to celebrate that and hopefully pushing [to earn] a right to play here again in the postseason. It’s just going to be wonderful [to have] one last time in the regular season to celebrate with our fans the project that we’ve been working on all year.
“In the course of a normal season you adapt, you change, players come, players go depending on injuries and whatnot, so obviously we are a different group [from the first meeting on April 30th]. [Oakland] are a different group [too]. But both groups are in the do-or-die time. We’ve been working towards a goal, and obviously that goal is coming up and there’s implications for both of us. It’s going to be a fight and we’re excited for it. They had a bit of a Ted Lasso thing going on throughout the season with draws, but they’re a very good team, as are we, so we’re going to look to close out the home-slate with three points.”
Switchbacks Head Coach and General Manager Brendan Burke: “I thought [Oakland] had some good chances when we played them out there [on April 30th]. They didn’t capitalize and it left us in the game and we were able to pull away. I think they’re a far better team than that scoreline reflected, and honestly the complexion of both teams is very different – at least on our side because of the massive number of injuries that we’re going through right now. I think Oakland present a real challenge and there’s a reason they’ve been hanging around the playoff line.
“We’re pretty banged-up. For that game in San Antonio [a 1-0 loss last Saturday night] we were probably missing seven or eight starters, or guys that have been starters throughout the year, and we’re in similar shape going into the weekend. We still feel like we have enough in the group to get a result. Our goal is a home playoff game, so any point now is absolutely crucial.”
Look at Oakland Roots: “[Leading scorer Óttar Magnús Karlsson] is excellent,” said Brendan Burke. “He’s got every tool. He’s got size, he’s got a little bit of pace, he’s got two good feet, good instincts – I don’t think he lacks anything. [We also look at Edgardo] Rito down the right side – he’s playing like a winger. [Oakland] play good soccer and they open you up if you don’t get out to the ball, and it will be important for us to take away passing lanes. And Lindo Mfeka, as he’s getting healthier and more minutes under his belt, he’s starting to do damage like down at Phoenix [2-0 win on September 10th], but also in that Red Bull game [1-0 victory last Saturday] I thought he was lively.”
Vargish’s View: This is going to be a good game. Oakland must win to keep pace with Monterey Bay and Rio Grande Valley for 7th place, and with it the final spot in the 2022 USL Championship Playoffs. The Switchbacks need a win to arrest a three-game slide and guarantee themselves a postseason match at Weidner Field.
The Switchbacks have to corral Oakland’s substantial quality, and that means more than simply slowing down Karlsson – the Icelandic hitman enters Saturday’s match tied with Switchbacks captain and reigning league MVP Hadji Barry for the third-most goals in the league in 2022. Saturday has all the earmarks of a tense, well-played contest that could be settled by a piece of late magic; perhaps from a substitute…hint, hint…